October 19, (THEWILL) — Lionel Messi claimed his first Major League Soccer Golden Boot on the final day of the regular season, scoring a hat-trick in Inter Miami’s 5-2 victory over Nashville SC. The Argentine forward finished with 29 goals and 19 assists, totalling 48 goal contributions for the campaign.
His statistical output ranks among the most prolific in MLS history. Only Carlos Vela, Josef Martínez, and Zlatan Ibrahimović have recorded higher single-season goal tallies. Messi’s 48 goal contributions constitute the second-best individual campaign ever, trailing Vela’s 2019 achievement of 49 contributions with Los Angeles FC.
Messi demonstrated his commitment to the Golden Boot pursuit in the weeks prior to the final match. He departed international duty with Argentina to feature in Miami’s penultimate fixture against Atlanta United, delivering two goals in a 4-0 triumph before rejoining his national team for training and an international friendly less than three days later. This effort secured a two-goal advantage heading into matchday 34, with Denis Bouanga of LAFC positioned as his closest challenger on 24 goals.
The 37-year-old reached a significant milestone by becoming the fastest player to 50 regular-season goals in MLS history, achieving the mark in 53 matches and surpassing Ibrahimović’s previous record of 54 games. Furthermore, Messi recorded 10 multi-goal games throughout the season, more than any other MLS player in the league’s 30-year history.
Messi stands as the outright favourite for the 2025 MLS MVP award and could make history by winning the honour in consecutive seasons. Inter Miami now prepare for the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, beginning their post-season campaign with a first-round best-of-three series against Nashville SC.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
